Alexander IV Elementary School was established in 1932 as the fourth free school supported by the Elam Alexander Trust. Mr. Elam Alexander, a notable architect, believed that free, quality education was paramount for the success of individuals, which in turn would lead to the success of Macon as a community. During his lifetime, Mr. Alexander gave generously to many educational institutions, and in his will, he set up the Alexander Free School Board, later known as the Elam Alexander Trust. This organization continues to promote education in Macon-Bibb County.  This particular elementary school was built in the Ingleside neighborhood to relieve overcrowding at the Bellevue and Clisby Schools. The Ridge Avenue location was more convenient for many of its new students, who lived in the recently established Ingleside neighborhood. The community waited in great anticipation for its new school, which the  Macon Telegraph  described as a “gabled, bronze-hued, English type” building. Such was the anticipation that the newspaper even wrote a description of the interior: “the mellow cream and brown interior of the school with its bronze trimmings and rose-tiled floors.”  The excitement continued after Alexander IV’s opening. Ms. Nell Collins, who both taught the seventh grade and served as the first principal, asked the Parent Teacher Association to hold a special tea, which formally unveiled the school in November 1932. Just a month earlier, a plaque was dedicated to Elam Alexander at the front entrance of the school. That plaque is still in place today.  Alexander IV’s prominent role in the community continued in many ways through the twentieth century. For instance, the school fielded a dominant football team for Macon’s annual Pony Bowl, a football game played around Thanksgiving, from 1949 to 1960. The school’s integral role in the community came to a close in June 2011, when Alexander IV closed its doors to students.  Today, the building’s steeply pitched gables, exposed beams, and intricate ornamentation stand empty to students. The Bibb County Board of Education declared the building surplus in 2013 and is seeking a new use for the significant building, which is a contributing building in the proposed Ingleside National Register District.  Historic Macon Foundation looks forward to working with the neighbors and the Board of Education to find a new use for the iconic school building. Across the country school buildings have been adapted to multiple uses, and we are confident Alexander IV will once again be an anchor and asset for the community.    UPDATE:    The Bibb County Board of Education approved the sale of Alex IV to the Macon-Bibb Country Land Bank Authority. The Land Bank Authority will hold the building as Historic Macon works with a committee to send out a request for proposal to developers.    Dover Development has been selected to renovated Alex IV into a senior living facility.    Read more.